Latest news with #WoodBrothersRacing
NBC Sports
28-06-2025
- Automotive
- NBC Sports
What to watch for in tonight's NASCAR Cup race at Atlanta
HAMPTON, Ga. — Christopher Bell, who won the most recent race at what was known as Atlanta Motor Speedway, will have his third different spotter in the last seven races in tonight's Cup race. That's just among the things to watch tonight at newly named EchoPark Speedway. A new eye in the sky Tab Boyd, recently let go by Hyak Motorsports, will make his debut as Christopher Bell's spotter tonight. With the drafting style of racing on the 1.54-mile track, spotters will play a key role. 'It's going to be tough, for sure, getting acclimated at probably one of the most spotter-intense racetracks on the calendar,' said Bell, who starts 28th. 'But Tab has a bunch of experience. … Definitely the first stage or two is going to be a learning curve.' The challenge will be the close racing and how quickly the runs come. Bell will have to know how close Boyd will clear him for openings on the track. A mistake could lead to a multi-car incident. Dustin Long, Bell started the season with Stevie Reeves as his spotter. Reeves had been Bell's spotter since Bell's Cup debut in 2020. Reeves left the team after Bell won the All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro in May. Matt Philpott took over as Bell's spotter for the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte and also served in that role at Nashville, Michigan, Mexico and Pocono. Boyd was Ricky Stenhouse Jr.'s spotter when Stenhouse won last fall's playoff race at Talladega. Boyd also was Stenhouse's spotter when he won the 2023 Daytona 500. Stenhouse, who starts 37th, will be in his second race with Clayton Hughes as his spotter. Stenhouse said that Boyd 'gives a lot of information at a pretty high rate of speed, which is a good thing on superspeedways. … I think him and Bell will be no problem.' Team Penske leads the way again For the second consecutive race at this track Team Penske has locked out the front two rows with its three cars and the car of its affiliate, Wood Brothers Racing. Joey Logano will start on the pole. With teammates around him, he should be able to control the race in the opening stage and, possibly, longer. If not him at the front, then maybe it will be Wood Brothers Racing's Josh Berry (starting second) or Ryan Blaney (third) or Austin Cindric (fourth). Nate Ryan, Those four drivers combined to lead 187 of the 266 laps in the February race here, but it was Christopher Bell winning and Blaney, the top Penske finisher, placing fourth. 'These places race so differently here compared to Daytona and Talladega,' Blaney said. 'I honestly prefer the racing here more than those places. I feel like you can move more up to the field, though the field, than you can at Daytona and Talladega just because handling comes more into play here. 'I think controlling the race here is a little bit tougher possibly than those races (at Daytona and Talladega) because the runs are huge. Guys take them whenever they can get them. So, I honestly think it's tougher to control the lead here. 'If you're at Talladega, let's say, and I got like me and Joey lined up, we can kind of control the pace that we want to run, how we kind of get on each other and push. We can really determine how fast we want to go, and we can kind of like stall the third lane out, make them non-existent if we want to push the pace and get connected and … and we can kind of go back to back with the inside or outside lane. 'Here you can't get connected as much. It's like you might get a shot down the frontstretch, a shot down the backstretch, but it's not like you're shoving a whole straightway for like eight seconds like you do (at Daytona and Talladega). It's very hard to control the lead.' Playoff race duels With 11 different winners, five playoff spots remain via points. Nine races remain in the regular season (including tonight's race). Alex Bowman holds the final playoff spot. He's 20 points ahead of Ryan Preece, who starts fifth. 'I think we're good enough to move up in points if we run how we should,' said Bowman, who starts ninth. 'If we stay where we're at in points, I think you're in a must-win (situation) then. But I think if we run how we should, we should move back up in points.' Bubba Wallace, who starts 24th, holds the next-to-last playoff spot. He's 29 points ahead of Preece. Chris Buescher, who starts 13th, is 38 points ahead of Preece. While there will be much talk about the matchups in the In-Season Challenge, which begins today, how those near the playoff cutline will be worth keeping an eye on tonight.
Reuters
28-06-2025
- Automotive
- Reuters
Joey Logano wins Cup Series pole in Atlanta on tiebreaker
June 28 - HAMPTON, Ga. -- Joey Logano led an armada of Fords into the top eight starting spots for Saturday night's Quaker State 400 at EchoPark Speedway (7 p.m. ET on TNT, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Logano clocked in at 30.979 seconds (178.960 mph) in Friday's qualifying session to secure his first Busch Light Pole Award of the season, his third at EchoPark and the 32nd of his career. Logano matched the time posted earlier by Josh Berry of Wood Brothers Racing, but the driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford got the nod for the pole on an owner points tiebreaker. Ryan Blaney posted the third-fastest lap at 178.937 mph, followed by Austin Cindric at 178.626 mph, as Team Penske drivers and the Penske affiliate Wood Brothers locked out the first two rows for Sunday's race, the opening round of the 32-driver In-Season Challenge. Logano faces ninth-place qualifier Alex Bowman in the first round. "Being up front and controlling this race is the name of the game," said Logano, who won last year's second Atlanta race, which was held in September. "If you can get up there and solidify the top position, I feel like you can stay there. The thing is, there are a lot of 'What ifs?' that play out in this race, a lot of cautions that may be timed in a different way, where it can jumble up the field. "It's hard to say you're going to be leading every lap... The good thing is that we controlled what we could today. I'm super proud of Team Penske, Roush Yates (Engines), Ford, obviously to keep our Mustangs up there. It really shows the ability to repeat from car to car, which is really hard to do. "We tied with the 21 (Berry) and the other cars were within a couple hundredths of a second." Ryan Preece, Brad Keselowski, Cole Custer and Zane Smith completed the Ford sweep of the top eight starting spots. Bowman drove the fastest Chevrolet to ninth on the grid, and Pocono Raceway winner Chase Briscoe was 10th in the quickest Toyota. Denny Hamlin, top seed in the In-Season Challenge, qualified 33rd but expects his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota to fare better in race trim. Nevertheless, Hamlin starts 19 spots behind Ty Dillon, the driver he has to beat to advance to the second round of the tournament. Briscoe, the second seed, starts 17 positions ahead of close friend Noah Gragson, his first-round opponent. Qualifying was interrupted by a 30-minute lightning hold, but no rain hit the track despite storms in the area. --Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service. Special to Field Level Media
NBC Sports
27-06-2025
- Automotive
- NBC Sports
Atlanta Cup starting lineup: Joey Logano wins pole as Fords dominate qualifying
HAMPTON, Ga. — Joey Logano will start on the pole for Saturday night's Cup race at EchoPark Speedway, as Fords took the top eight spots in the 40-car field. He claimed the top starting spot with a lap of 178.960 mph. It is Logano's first pole of the season and 32nd of his Cup career. MORE: Cup starting lineup For the second Atlanta race in a row, Team Penske and its affiliate, Wood Brothers Racing, grabbed the top four starting positions. Dustin Long, Josh Berry, who drives for the Wood Brothers, will start next to Logano on the front row. Berry posted the same lap time as Logano but Logano got the pole because ties are broken by car owner points. Logano's car ranks higher than Berry's car in the owner standings. Team Penske's Ryan Blaney will start third after a lap of 178.937 mph, and teammate Austin Cindric qualified fourth with a lap of 178.626 mph. Ryan Preece, who drives for RFK Racing, qualified fifth at 178.092. He was followed by teammate Brad Keselowski (177.960 mph), Cole Custer (177.949) and Zane Smith (177.920). Alex Bowman (177.675) will start ninth as the top Chevrolet in qualifying. Pocono winner Chase Briscoe qualified 10th with a lap of 177.635 mph and is the top Toyota. The green flag for Saturday's race is scheduled to wave at 7:19 p.m. ET on TNT and TruTV
Yahoo
18-06-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Wood Brothers Wednesdays: Highlighting Pocono prowess
To celebrate 75 years worth of memories, the legendary Wood Brothers Racing team will be celebrated throughout the summer with 'Wood Brothers Wednesdays' on The NASCAR Channel. Wood Brothers Racing has been around since 1950, when Glen and Leonard Wood teamed up to pioneer a legacy that has transcended time. Advertisement Glen was behind the wheel of their car at Bowman Gray Stadium in 1960 and took the Wood Brothers Racing team to Victory Lane for the first time. The team scored its 101st NASCAR Cup Series victory in 2025, when Josh Berry took the checkered flag at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Bookending those victories were triumphs everywhere from Daytona to Darlington to Rockingham and everywhere in between. Twenty of NASCAR's 75 Greatest Drivers have piloted a car for the team throughout their storied history, one that is well worth celebrating. RELATED: How to watch The NASCAR Channel This weekend will celebrate memorable Wood Brothers moments throughout the 1980s. It also highlights some of their success at Pocono Raceway, the site of this weekend's Cup Series race (Sun., 2 p.m. ET, Prime Video, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Advertisement The thrilling 1986 Miller High Life 400 at Richmond Raceway will be the first full race on tap Wednesday. The race was won by Kyle Petty, marking his first victory in the Cup Series. Ryan Blaney's victory at Pocono in the 2017 Axalta Presents the Pocono 400 will be on the schedule. It was the first victory of Blaney's Cup Series career, as well as the team's first victory at the track since Neil Bonnett was victorious at the 'Tricky Triangle' in 1980. Bonnett's victory in July 1980, as well as the 1983 Firecracker 400 from Daytona International Speedway, finish out the day's races. That Daytona contest was won by Buddy Baker. It was the 19th and final victory of his Hall of Fame career. The 'Memory Lane' original content series will relive both the race from Richmond in 1986, as well as Blaney's 2017 Pocono victory. Advertisement The NASCAR Channel delivers 24/7, always-on content, featuring the latest news and information from around the sport, original programming and race replays. It is a FAST channel (Free-Ad Supported Television) and can be watched on your TV or mobile device via one of the streaming partners, such as Tubi or Xumo Play.
Newsweek
07-06-2025
- Automotive
- Newsweek
Harrison Burton Opens Up On WBR Relationship After NASCAR Cup Series Exit
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. NASCAR driver Harrison Burton has spoken about his relationship with Wood Brothers Racing following his exit from the team at the end of the 2024 season, insisting that he still has a strong connection with the team. The team announced in July 2024 that the 24-year-old driver would be replaced by Josh Berry in 2025, despite later clinching his first career Cup Series win at the Daytona summer race. As a result, Burton now competes full-time in the Xfinity Series with AM Racing, driving the No. 25 Ford Mustang Dark Horse. Speaking about his relationship with Wood Brothers Racing following his exit, Burton explained on SpeedFreaks: "That's something that I think is one of my biggest strengths. Harrison Burton, driver of the #25 Dead On Tools/DEX Imaging Ford, looks on during qualifying for the NASCAR Xfinity Series BetMGM 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 24, 2025 in Concord, North Carolina. Harrison Burton, driver of the #25 Dead On Tools/DEX Imaging Ford, looks on during qualifying for the NASCAR Xfinity Series BetMGM 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 24, 2025 in Concord, North Carolina."I was so lucky to have a great relationship with everyone at the Wood Brothers that there was no bad feeling. They truly care about me. "I mean they still send me stuff — it's their 75th season — or Leonard Wood built me [a radio-controlled] car, as well. I just have a great relationship with that group, so it made it a way less bitter taste in my mouth." Effectively stepping down from the Cup to the Xfinity Series, Burton is using the opportunity to come back to the top series stronger. He added: "It was really to me about self-reflection and what I can do to be better, and I feel I'm doing those things to be better and it's starting to show in the AM Racing team. "We're turning that program around which I'm super excited about. We've got the right people over there. Obviously, for me, it's all been about moving forward and what's next. "That's been the biggest weapon of mine and I've raced the best drivers in the world for the past three years, so I've learned a lot and I feel I can take that with me to the future and hopefully when I get back to the Cup Series, I'll be ready to go again and understand and fire off with some pace."
